Jaromir Jagr
| birth_place = Kladno, Czech Republic | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 3 | weight_lb = 230 | position = Right Wing | shoots = Left | league = NHL | team = Florida Panthers | former_teams = Pittsburgh Penguins Washington Capitals New York Rangers Philadelphia Flyers Dallas Stars Boston Bruins New Jersey Devils HC Kladno (CZE) Avangard Omsk (KHL) | ntl_team = TCH | ntl_team_2 = CZE | draft = 5th overall | draft_year = 1990 | draft_team = Pittsburgh Penguins | career_start = 1988 | medaltemplates = }} Jaromír Jágr (born on February 15, 1972) is a Czech professional ice hockey right winger currently playing for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has formerly played in the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils, serving as captain of the Penguins and the Rangers. After leaving the Rangers, he played for three seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) with Avangard Omsk before returning to the NHL with the Flyers. Jaromir is the leading point scorer among active NHL players and has the second most points in NHL history. He is the most productive European player who has ever played in the NHL and is considered one of the greatest professional hockey players of all time. In 1990, at the age of 18, he was the youngest player in the NHL. Currently, at the age of 45, Jaromir is the oldest player in the NHL and is the oldest player to record a hat-trick. On January 27, 2017, in a ceremony during the All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, he was part of the second group of players to be named one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players" in history. Jaromir was the fifth overall selection in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft and remains the only player still active in the NHL from the 1990 Draft. He won consecutive Stanley Cups in the 1991 and 1992 seasons with the Penguins. Individually, he has won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL scoring champion five times (four times in a row), the Lester B. Pearson Award for the NHL's outstanding player as voted by the NHL Players' Association (NHLPA) three times and the Hart Memorial Trophy as the League's most valuable player once, while being a finalist an additional four times. For two decades, from 1981 to 2001, only three players won the Art Ross Trophy as the leading point-scorer over the regular season: Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Jaromir. He has won the award the most of any non-Canadian player. Jaromir is also one of only 27 hockey players in the Triple Gold Club, individuals who have played for teams that have won the Stanley Cup (1991, 1992), the Ice Hockey World Championships (2005, 2010) and the Olympic gold medal in ice hockey (1998). Jaromir is one of only two Czech players (the other being Jiří Šlégr) in the Club, achieving this feat in 2005, but he has never achieved an international junior championship, and is yet to achieve a World Cup of Hockey medal. He was the Czech Republic's flag bearer at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Playing Career Early Playing Career Járomir began skating when he was three years old and immediately showed exceptional abilities. When he was 16 years old, he was playing at the highest level of competition in Czechoslovakia for HC Kladno. Pittsburgh Penguins (1990-2001) Járomir was the first Czechoslovakian player to be drafted by the NHL without first having to defect to the West; his selection in the NHL draft came as the Iron Curtain was falling. Because of this, after Járomir was taken by the Pittsburgh Penguins with the fifth overall pick in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, he was able to come immediately to North America from Czechoslovakia. Jaromir was a supporting player with the powerhouse Penguins that won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992. He was one of the youngest players in NHL history, at 20 years of age, to score a goal in the Stanley Cup finals. Before he had a clean grasp on the English language, Jaromir could be heard reading the daily weather forecast on Pittsburgh radio station WDVE in his broken, thickly accented English. He and teammate (and fellow countryman) Jiří Hrdina were promoted as the "Czechmates", a play on the term "checkmate" from chess. Jaromir would also play Scrabble in an attempt to increase his English vocabulary. Some Penguins fans realized that the letters in his first name could be scrambled to form the anagram "Mario Jr.", a reference to teammate Mario Lemieux. In the 1994–95 NHL season Járomir won his first Art Ross Trophy as the scoring champion of the NHL. He tied Eric Lindros with 70 points but won based on his 32 goals to Lindros' 29. The next year, Járomir set a record for most points, 149, by a European-born player. Both his 62 goals and 87 assists from that season still stand as career-highs. His 1995–96 totals for assists and points stand as the records for right-wingers in those categories. After the 1997–98 season, captain Ron Francis signed with the Carolina Hurricanes, leaving Járomir the Penguins' captaincy. From 1997–98 to 2000–01, Jágr would win four straight NHL scoring titles. In 1999, Járomir would win the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's Most Valuable Player as well as the Lester B. Pearson Award. In 1998, he led the Czech Republic's team to a gold medal at the Nagano Olympics. On December 30, 1999, Járomir scored 3 goals and 4 assists for a career high 7-point night against the New York Islanders. He would match this feat on January 11, 2003, by once again scoring 3 goals and adding 4 assists for a total of 7 points in a game against the Florida Panthers while playing for Washington. In 2000–01, Járomir was struggling to find his scoring touch and faced criticisms about his relationship with coach Ivan Hlinka. With the return of Mario Lemieux from retirement, the Penguins had two superstars but friction developed between the two; Jágr held the captaincy but many fans regarded Lemieux as the talisman of the team. Also, the struggling, small-market Penguins could (with Lemieux back) no longer hope to afford Járomir's massive salary. Thus on July 11, 2001, they traded him (along with František Kučera) to the Washington Capitals for Kris Beech, Michal Sivek and Ross Lupaschuk. In 806 games in Pittsburgh, Járomir became only the second Penguins player, after Lemieux, to score 1,000 points in a Penguins sweater. Currently, Járomir sits second behind Lemieux in all offensive categories in franchise history, except points per game, where he is third (behind Sidney Crosby and Lemieux). Washington Capitals (2001-2004) Later that year the Capitals signed Járomir to the largest contract ever in NHL history (at that time)—$77 million over 7 years at an average salary of $11 million per year, with an option for an eighth year. However, he did not live up to expectations, as the Capitals failed to defend their division title and missed the playoffs in 2002. For the first time during his tenure with the Capitals, Járomir failed to finish among the league's top scorers, make the postseason or even make the All-Star Team. During the summer of 2002, the Capitals reunited Járomir with former linemate Robert Lang. In 2002–03, Washington managed to finish 6th overall in the Eastern Conference but lost to the upstart Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs despite winning the first two games. This prompted the Caps to unload much of their high-priced talent in order to save money (not just a cost-cutting spree), but also an acknowledgement that their attempt to build a contender with high-priced veteran talent had failed. Disgruntled, the Washington ownership spent much of 2003 trying to trade Járomir, but a year before a new Collective Bargaining Agreement was to be signed, few teams were willing to risk $11 million on him. New York Rangers (2004-2008) On January 23, 2004, Jaromir was traded to the New York Rangers for Anson Carter and an agreement that Washington would pay approximately $4 million per year of his salary. Járomir also agreed to defer (with interest) $1 million per year for the remainder of his contract to allow the trade to go ahead. However (due to the new collective bargaining agreement signed before the start of the 2005–06 season), Járomir's salary was subsequently reduced to $7.8 million, the maximum allowed under the terms of the new salary cap. During the NHL labor dispute in 2004–05, he played for HC Kladno in the Czech Republic, and afterward for the Avangard ice-hockey team at Omsk in Russia. Jaromír led the Czech Republic to gold at the 2005 World Hockey Championships in Austria; and was elected a tournament all-star in the process. Jaromir also became a member of hockey's prestigious Triple Gold Club, players who have won a Stanley Cup, a World Hockey Championship and an Olympic gold medal. Prior to the 2005–06 season, the Rangers had missed the playoffs for seven consecutive seasons. Following the fire sale of the high-priced underachieving veterans that made up the team's roster, as well as the retirement of long-time captain Mark Messier, many experts picked the Rangers to be the worst team in the NHL. Járomir disagreed and promised the team would surprise a lot of people and make the Stanley Cup playoffs. Jaromir started strong during the beginning of the 2005 season and the return from the lockout of the NHL. He became only the fourth player in NHL history to score 10 or more goals in less than 10 games at the start of a season. Jaromir's return to dominance helped the Rangers return to the Stanley Cup playoffs, but injuries to him and others contributed to a quick Ranger exit in a first round sweep of the Broadway Blueshirts by the archnemesis New Jersey Devils. On March 2, 2006, Járomir scored his 1,400th point on a power play goal against the Philadelphia Flyers on March 2, 2006, pushing him past Jari Kurri into second place all-time among European-born players. Jaromir later passed Stan Mikita to become the all-time leader. On March 18, 2006, Jaromir became the only sixth Rangers player in team history to break the 100-point barrier against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He also became the only Ranger right winger to score 100 points in a season. On March 27, 2006, Jaromir had a goal & an assist against the Buffalo Sabres which tied both the Rangers' single-season goal record of 52 (Adam Graves, 1993–94) and the Rangers' single season points record of 109 (Jean Ratelle, 1971–72). Two nights later, on March 29, 2006, Járomir passed Ratelle when he assisted on Petr Prucha's first-period goal against the New York Islanders' Rick DiPietro. On April 8, 2006, Jaromir scored his first league-leading 53rd goal of the season which broke the Rangers' single-seasons goal record. After leading the league in points and goals for most of 2005–06, Járomir was passed by the San Jose Sharks' duo of Joe Thornton (125 points) and Jonathan Cheechoo (56 goals), losing both the Art Ross and Maurice Richard trophies in the final week of the season. Járomir finished with 123 points, 54 goals, and 24 power-play goals, second in the league in all three categories. He finished third in the league in both assists, with 69, and +/-, at +34. Despite being inched out by Thornton for the Art Ross Trophy and Hart Trophy (league MVP), Jaromir won his third Lester B. Pearson Award as the league's outstanding player. However, just as in Washington, playoff success was not to be for him, whose Rangers were swept in four games by the New Jersey Devils. Járomir suffered a dislocated shoulder in the third period of the first game of the series, which kept him from playing at his top form for the rest of the series. Jágr had surgery on the shoulder after the Rangers were eliminated from the playoffs. On October 5, 2006 (before the first game of the 2006–07 NHL season against the Washington Capitals), Járomir was named as the 24th captain in the history of the New York Rangers, replacing Mark Messier who retired before the 2005–06 season. He then proceeded to score a goal on his very first shift in the game, just under 30 seconds into the new season. On November 19, 2006, Jaromir scored his 600th career NHL goal on Tampa Bay goalie Johan Holmqvist, making him the 16th player in NHL history to do so. Power play linemate Brendan Shanahan had scored his 600th goal almost three weeks earlier, making them the first teammates in NHL history to score their 600th goal in the same season. On February 10, 2007, Jaromir earned an assist on a goal by Michal Rozsival against the Washington Capitals to record his 1,500th career point. He is only the 12th NHLer to reach this mark. He is the fourth fastest player to score 1,500 points after Marcel Dionne, Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky. On April 5, 2007, Jaromir scored his 30th career of the 2006-07 NHL season to record 15 consecutive seasons of 30 or more goals. This tied the NHL record of consecutive 30-goal seasons held by Mike Gartner. After a regular season slowed by a weak shoulder, Jaromir led the New York Rangers to a sweep of the Atlanta Thrashers in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. The Rangers would fall to the Buffalo Sabres in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. On November 14, 2007, Járomir scored his 4th goal of the 2007–08 NHL season at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey against the New Jersey Devils, making h im the first player to score a goal in 53 different NHL arenas. Avangard Omsk (2008-2011) On July 3, 2008, Járomir (a free agent for the first time in his career) was informed by Rangers GM Glen Sather that the club was moving on without him. Sather admitted that the two sides never engaged in detailed negotiations for a new contract, and that after many months of speculation, Jágr was "seriously considering" going to Russia to finish his career, despite offers from other NHL teams. A day later, these reports came true, when Jágr agreed to a two-year deal with Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League; the deal was reported to pay Jágr the equivalent US$5 million annually.9 Jágr was named Avangard's captain on January 30, 2009. Járomir has also expressed desires to finish out his career at his father's club, HC Kladno. He was sitting next to Alexei Cherepanov when Cherepanov (a first-round pick of the Rangers) died. They were discussing the past shift when Cherepanov collapsed right into Jaromir on the bench at the Ice Hockey Center 2004 arena. In April of 2009, Járomir publicly stated an interest in returning to the NHL, stating that he really just needed a break from the pressures of an 82-game NHL schedule. He claimed to have lost 15 pounds since his last NHL season and was "practicing a lot harder than he ever did in his life" stated he would be interested in joining the Edmonton Oilers because of the interest they showed in July 2008. However, following the expiration of his original contract with Avangard, Jaromir re-signed with Avangard for the 2010–11 KHL season. Philadelphia Flyers (2011-12) On July 1, 2011, Jágr returned to North America and rather than signing with his original NHL team in Pittsburgh, he opted to sign a one-year, $3.3 million contract with the Philadelphia Flyers, the Penguins' cross-state rival. Jaromir scored his 1600th point during his debut game with the Flyers, assisting on a Claude Giroux goal as the Flyers won their season opener 2–1 over the Boston Bruins on October 6, 2011. Usually playing on a top line with Giroux and Scott Hartnell, Járomir was among the top scorers during the start of the 2011–12 season. On October 24, 2011, Jaromir scored his first and second goals as a Philadelphia Flyer against the Toronto Maple Leafs. On October 29, 2011, Jaromir scored his 650th and 651st NHL goals against the Carolina Hurricanes. Jaromir scored his only goal of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs during Philadelphia's matchup with Pittsburgh. The Flyers were ultimately eliminated by the eventual Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Devils. During the NHL lockout in 2012–13 season, Jaromir played for his own team Rytíři Kladno in the Czech Extraliga. During this lockout, he scored 24 goals and 33 assists in 34 games and before leaving Kladno for the Dallas Stars, he was in second place of Czech Extraliga's scoring list. Dallas Stars (2012-13) On July 3, 2012, Járomir signed a one-year deal, reportedly worth $4.5 million, with the Dallas Stars of the NHL. The signing marked his first time playing in the Western Conference. Járomir said during a conference call two days later that the Montreal Canadiens had been his first choice as a free agent. "I always wanted to play in Canada and I wanted to go to Montreal if I had a chance, but Montreal wasn't interested," Jágr said. "All of a sudden I got a phone call from Stars' general manager Joe Nieuwendyk that Dallas was interested." After the NHL lockout ended, on January 19, 2013, Jaromir made his debut as a Dallas Star and he tallied two goals and two assists in a 4–3 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes. On March 29, 2013, Jaromir hit the 1000-assist mark against the Minnesota Wild. He became the 12th player to do so and the first non-Canadian NHL player to reach that milestone. Boston Bruins (2013) On April 2, 2013, Jaromir was traded to the Boston Bruins for two prospects and a draft pick. On April 4, 2013, he made his debut with the Bruins, scoring the lone goal in Boston's 1–0 win over the New Jersey Devils and with his second Bruins goal, the first scored in a 3–0 shutout over the Florida Panthers on April 21, 2013, Jaromir tied the record for the most game-winning goals in an NHL career (118), previously set by past Bruin great Phil Esposito. When Járomir played in Game 1 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals, he set a new record for the longest gap between Finals appearances (21 years, surpassing the previous record of 19 years) which was established by Gary Roberts in 2008. Coincidentally, both instances involved someone with the Penguins at one end of those streaks. After the Bruins lost the Finals to the Chicago Blackhawks, the team announced on June 26, 2013 that they have no intention of resigning Járomir. New Jersey Devils (2013-2015) On July 22, 2013, Jaromir agreed to a one year deal with the New Jersey Devils, as reported by Pierre Lebrun of ESPN. The deal includes $2 million guaranteed and another $2 million incentive if Járomir plays at least 40 games. At the age of 41, Jaromir hoped to help replace the loss of Ilya Kovalchuk for the Devils. He scored his first goal as a Devil on October 7, 2013 in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Edmonton Oilers. The goal came on the twenty-third anniversary of his first NHL goal which, coincidentally, was against the Devils. On November 21, 2013, Jaromir tied Gordie Howe's record of game-winning goals with 121 with his 690th goal, which tied him in ninth place (with former teammate Mario Lemieux) for all-time goal-scoring leaders in his twentieth NHL season. On December 20, 2013, Jaromir scored his 693rd goal, putting him in 8th place over Steve Yzerman. A day later, he tied with Mark Messier for seventh place in NHL history for goals scored with 694. Later in the season, on January 14, 2014, Jaromir scored his 695th goal, passing Messier, putting him 14 goals away from passing Mike Gartner. On March 1, 2014, he scored his 700th career NHL goal as the Devils won 6–1 against the New York Islanders at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. On April 8, 2014, near the end of the Devils' season, he was awarded the New Jersey Devils MVP Award at their annual team awards ceremony. He scored two points in his final game of the season (two assists in the third period) and in doing so surpassed Gordie Howe for eighth place on the NHL's all-time list for career assists whilst tying Steve Yzerman for sixth on the all-time points list at 1,755. Jágr finished the season as the team's leading scorer with his highest points total in a season since 2007–08. Jaromir play led the Devils to re-sign him to another one-year contract on April 30, 2014. He became the joint sixth-highest scorer in NHL history in November of 2014 after scoring his 708th NHL goal for the Devils against Boston. On December 8, 2014 (during his 1,500th NHL game), he moved ahead of Marcel Dionne for fifth place on the NHL's all-time points list with 1,772. On January 3, 2015, in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Jaromir became the oldest player in NHL history to score a hat trick at 42 years and 322 days. The record was previously held by Detroit Red Wings defenceman Nicklas Lidstrom. Florida Panthers (2015-current) On February 26, 2015, the Devils traded Jaromir to the Florida Panthers in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft and a third-round pick in 2016. He made his team debut on February 28th in a 5–3 Panthers win over the Buffalo Sabres and registered his first points with the team in the following game on March 1, 2015, posting a goal and an assist in a 4–3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. On March 19, 2015, Jaromir scored his 718th career goal against Detroit to move him past Phil Esposito and fifth on the all-time goal scoring list. In an April 9 4–2 Panthers victory over the Bruins, he registered two assists to give him 1,800 career points in the NHL and sole possession of fourth place on the all-time points list, surpassing former Penguins teammate Ron Francis. On April 11, 2015 in the Panthers' season finale, he reached 2,000 NHL points (including playoff games) when he assisted on a Jonathan Huberdeau goal. He then scored his 800th NHL goal (including playoffs) later in the third period. On April 12, 2015, (one day after the end of the 2014–15 regular season), Jaromir signed a one-year, $3.5 million contract extension with Florida. Jaromir reached multiple milestones as a Panther. On December 20, 2015, he moved into fourth all-time on the NHL scoring list, scoring his 732nd goal to move past Marcel Dionne for fourth place in NHL history. On February 4, 2016, Jaromir became the 6th player in NHL history to record 1100 career assists. Then, on February 20, 2016, he scored his 742nd goal, surpassing Brett Hull for third place in NHL history. In a March 7 5–4 overtime loss to the Bruins, an assist on Aleksander Barkov's goal put Jágr at 1,851 career points, passing Gordie Howe on the all-time points list and putting him in sole possession of third place overall. With the Panthers qualifying for the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs, Jaromir played in his first playoff series since the 2013 Stanley Cup Final. Even though he only registered two assists in the Panthers' six game first round exit to the Islanders, he became the fifth NHL player all-time to record 200 career playoff points. At the age of 44, he led the Panthers in scoring with 66 points. In reward for his strong play and leadership abilities, the team announced that he was re-signed to a one-year, $4 million contract on May 5, 2016. On October 20, 2016, Jaromir became the third player in NHL history to score 750 goals. On December 22, 2016, he scored his 1,888th career point, surpassing Mark Messier to become second in career points. On 15 February 2017 (on his 45th birthday), Jaromir became the second player to register his 1,900th NHL point. Career Statistics Regular season and playoffs International Awards & Achievements National Hockey League (NHL) Awards Stanley Cup champion *1991 (Pittsburgh Penguins) *1992 (Pittsburgh Penguins) Art Ross Trophy (Scoring champion) *Winner: 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 *Runner-up: 1996, 2006 Lester B. Pearson Award (MVP - voting by Players) *Winner: 1999, 2000, 2006 Hart Memorial Trophy (MVP - voting by Media) *Winner 1999 *Finalist: 1995, 1998, 2000, 2006 Selected to 12 NHL All-Star games: 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 NHL First Team All-Star: 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2006 NHL Second Team All-Star: 1997 NHL All-Rookie Team: 1991 International Awards Olympic Games Medalist *1998 - Gold (Nagano, Japan) *2006 - Bronze (Turin, Italy) IIHF World Championships Medalist *1990 - Bronze (Bern, Switzerland) *2005 - Gold (Vienna, Austria) *2010 - Gold (Mannheim, Germany) *2011 - Bronze (Bratislava, Slovakia) IIHF European Club Champion *2005 (Avangard Omsk) IOC Trophy Winner *2011 (“Sport, inspiring young people”) IIHF World Championship directorate award winner *2011: Best Forward (Bratislava, Slovakia) IIHF World Championship All-Star Team: 2004, 2005 and 2011 Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) Awards Continental Cup *2011 (Avangard Omsk) All-Star Game *Captain (Team World): 2009, 2010 *Captain (Team East): 2011 Other Awards *Golden Stick Award – 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2011. Awarded annually to the top ice hockey player in the Czech Republic (and previously in Czechoslovakia), Jágr surpassed five-time winner Dominik Hašek in 2005, going on to win his tenth in 2011. *Medal of Merit in the second grade, awarded by the president of the Czech Republic *Václav Klaus in 2010 *Flagbearer for the Czech Olympic Team at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. Sportsperson of the Year (Czech Republic) (awarded by journalists in the Czech Republic) Individual *Winner: 2005 *Finalist (top ten): 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011 Team (Always Czech Republic men's national ice hockey team) *Winner: 1998 (Olympic team), 2005 (WC team), 2010 (WC team) *Finalist (top three): 2004 (WC team), 2011 (WC team) In 1998, Jaromir was ranked number 37 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players. This made him the highest-ranked player to have been trained outside Canada. Járomir who was only 26 at the time, was additionally the second-youngest player on the list, older only than 25-year-old, No. 54-ranked Eric Lindros. NHL Records *Most career game-winning goals – 121 *Most single-season points by a right wing – 149 *Most single-season points by a European-born player – 149 *Most career overtime goals – 17 *Most career goals by a European-born player – 681 *Most career assists by a European-born player – 1,007 *Most career points by a European-born player – 1,688 *Most career game-tying goals by a European-born player – 11 (Tied with Teemu Selanne) *Most career shots on goal by a European-born player – 4,849 *Most career playoff game-winning goals by a European-born player – 16 *Most consecutive 30-goal seasons (1991–2007) – 15 (Shared with Mike Gartner, including the shortened 1994–95 NHL season, 48 games) *Most consecutive 70-point seasons (15) (including the shortened 1994–95 NHL season, 48 games) *Longest drought between Stanley Cup Finals appearances- 21 years *Only player to play in the Stanley Cup Finals as a teenager and at 40+ years of age Pittsburgh Penguins Records *Pittsburgh Penguins, 1990–1992 Stanley Cup Champions *Most single-season points by a right wing – 149 *Most single-season goals a European-born player – 62 *Most single-season assists by a right wing – 87 *Most single-season assists by a European-born player – 87 *Most single-season power-play goals by a European-born player – 20 *Most single-season game-winning goals – 12 *Most single-season shots on goal – 403 *Most career points by a right wing – 1,079 *Most career points by a European-born player – 1079 *Most career goals by a right wing – 439 *Most career goals by a European-born player – 439 *Most career assists by a right wing – 640 *Most career assists by a European-born player – 640 *Most career playoff game-winning goals – 78 *Most career power-play goals by a right wing – 110 *Most career power-play goals by a European-born player – 110 *Most career shorthanded goals by a European-born player – 9 *Most career overtime goals – 9 *Most career game-tying goals – 10 *Most career shots on goal by a right wing – 2,911 *Most career shots on goal by a European-born player – 2,911 *Most career playoff goals by a right wing – 65 *Most career playoff goals by a European-born player – 65 *Most career playoff points by a right wing – 147 *Most career playoff points by a European-born player – 147 *Most career playoff shorthanded goals by a right wing – 2 (Tied with Eddie Olczyk) *Most career playoff shorthanded goals in the playoffs by a European-born player – 2 *Most career playoff game-winning goals – 14 *Most career playoff overtime goals – 4 *Most career playoff shots on goal – 461 *Most career playoff power-play goals by a right wing – 19 *Most career playoff power-play goals by a European-born player – 19 New York Rangers Records *Most single-season goals (2005–06) – 54 *Most single-season points (2005–06) – 123 *Most single-season power-play goals (2005–06) – 24 *Most single-season shots on goal (2005–06) – 368 *Most single-season game-winning goals (2005–06) – 9 (Tied with Mark Messier 1996–97 and Don Murdoch 1980–81) *Most single-season assists by a right wing (2005–06) – 69 International Play Járomir has represented his country many times, but his international statistics are considerably lower than those he posted in the National Hockey League. In 1994, he and Martin Straka arrived in the middle of the World Championships. The fans' expectations were high as Járomir was an NHL star, but before they were able to integrate into the team Czechs lost their quarterfinal game and were out of the tournament. Járomir was also hurt in numerous other games. The 1996 World Cup of Hockey also did not see Járomir at his best. His performance was hampered by the flu and it only underscored the poor play of the whole team. After losing 7–3 to Finland, 3–0 to Sweden and 7–1 even to relatively weak Germany, the team did not qualify for the playoffs. All this was forgotten in 1998 when the Czech Republic won the gold medal in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. It was only the third gold medal for Czech or Czechoslovak sportsmen from the Winter Olympics and it is still fondly remembered. Jágr did not play in the 1996, 1999, 2000 or 2001 World Championships, where the Czech Republic won the gold medals. Jaromir was a member of the team on the 2004 World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, where the expectations were high, especially after the team won all the games in the group, but they lost in the quarterfinals game. It was the 2005 World Championships that finally brought a gold medal to Járomir. Although he broke his finger in an early game against Germany, he played with it bandaged during the rest of the tournament and led his team to victory. More injuries struck Járomir in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. He was injured after a hit from Jarkko Ruutu in the game against Finland and he required stitches to his eyebrow. However, the injury was not as serious as it first seemed and Járomir was able to play in the following games. He was unable to finish the bronze medal game due to muscle injury. Despite this trouble, he won the second Olympic medal in his life (bronze this time). Járomir was the flag bearer of the 2010 Winter Olympics for the Czech Republic. This time, the Czechs finished seventh after a defeat in the quarterfinals to Finland. Personal Life Járomir resides in the Czech Republic during the off-season. His father (also named Jaromír Jágr) owns a chain of hotels and serves as the president of HC Kladno. Járomir wears the number 68, which he has worn through his entire career in honour of the Prague Spring rebellion that occurred in Czechoslovakia in 1968 and his grandfather who died while in prison that same year. Járomir has been a long-time supporter of the liberal conservative Civic Democratic Party, stating in 2004 that he "had always" voted for the party. In previous election he has appeared at the party's billboards and was among its sponsors. On May 26, 2010, Jaromir announced he was backing the Civic Democrats and its leader Petr Nečas. At the press conference he said: "I realise that there will be elections in two to three days. I would like their outcome to be good." He also urged the party not to forget about sports when distributing money. "We all know what would happen if the young did not practice any sport. If children practice some sport, they do not have time for other things such as alcohol." Járomir is an Orthodox Christian; he was baptized in 2001 by Prague's metropolitan. Orthodox Christians are a tiny minority in the Czech Republic, which has historically been dominated by Roman Catholicism and Protestantism but now has one of the least religious populations in the world. Jaromir began to speak more publicly about his faith after his three-year stint in Russia (a historically Orthodox nation). Off-Ice Incidents Although Jaromir has repeatedly denied that he has a gambling problem, in 2003, he admitted that he settled debts totaling US$950,000 with two internet gambling sites between 1998 and 2002. The first of these incidents centered on Belize-based website CaribSports and its owner, William Caesar to which Járomir owed $500,000. Sports Illustrated reported that he agreed to make monthly payments to Caesar to settle the debt and Caesar leaked the story to the press when Jágr stopped making payments. In 2003, the Internal Revenue Service filed a $3.27 million lien against him for unpaid taxes for the 2001 tax year. Only a few months before, Járomir had settled a $350,000 claim for taxes dating to 1999. In the summer of 2006, Járomir sued his former accountant over a tax form that was supposed to have been filed in 2003, claiming that the form would have saved him $6 million had it been filed in a timely fashion. Category:1972 births Category:Art Ross Trophy winners Category:Avangard Omsk players Category:Bolzano HC players Category:Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy Category:Czech ice hockey players Category:Czech expatriates in Russia Category:Czechoslovak ice hockey players Category:Expatriate ice hockey players in Russia Category:Hart Memorial Trophy winners Category:HC Kladno players Category:Ice hockey players at the 1998 Winter Olympics Category:Ice hockey players at the 2002 Winter Olympics Category:Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics Category:Ice hockey players at the 2010 Winter Olympics Category:Lester B. 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